hardy sheep barely manage to subsist. But
why worry? "Enjoy what you can" seems to
be the local motto.
If most of the several dozen gardians, as
the cowboys of the Camargue are called, dress
suspiciously like western film stars and slouch
like Gary Cooper-so much the better for
the next fete (page 686).
And, with the puzzling exceptions of the
rubber boots and the trident, everything in
sight that first morning in the Camargue
seemed borrowed from a "horse opera."
Ten
gallon hat, gay checked shirt, lasso, little cow
pony with comfortable western-style saddle
-ev en the semidesert landscape covered with
lichens and an odd tamarisk. Who would
Like Giant Saucers,
Roman Theater and Arena (Left)
Break the Tiled Roof Pattern of Aries
Ramparts that enclosed the Roman city have van
ished with time, but Aries still huddles about its
ancient monuments. Homes and shops rub shoulders
along intimate streets. Buildings stand so close that
most daylight is squeezed out of storied lanes, once
paved, according to Henry James, with "villainous
little sharp stones" that made walking "penitential."
Three medieval watchtowers rise from the arena's
upper tier (left). Railway tracks skirt the city be
yond the cemetery; trains compete with barges for
Rhone Valley commerce (page 669). Arles is market
center for the Camargue.
In this aerial view, St. Trophime's tower and part
of the cloisters appear at lower right. They dwarf
the two marble columns of the ancient theater (page
666), used after Roman rule by city dwellers as a
quarry for building homes, churches, and fortifica
tions. The theater had all but disappeared when res
toration work began in the 17th century.
Photo Greff-R. Henrard
say that this was France? But those fisher
man's boots, on a horseman... ?
The gardian smiled at my first question.
"Eh, bien, our bulls are unreasonable some
times," he explained.
"They wander off into
the salt marshes and get bogged down. The
same might happen to my horse were I to fol
low mounted. So I go on foot. The boots
keep my feet dry."
The long-handled trident was for prodding
the bulls along from a convenient distance.
It is the ancient and characteristic tool of
the French cow hand, this one told me, and
remarkably useful. He himself preferred it
to the lasso, carried only for catching horses.
For Michel Nou de la Houpliere was proud
of the old Camargue traditions. Here cow
boys were riding long before the Spaniards
brought horses to the New World. For ex
ample, the harness of his mount, made largely
of hair from the manes of his own horses,
included a kind of supplementary rein. Leg
end had it that the rein was originated to
control the half-wild ponies that came to
the Camargue with Attila's hordes. Today it
is kept only because of ancient custom.
Saddle in Style for Centuries
Michel's saddle followed local fashion in
being high in front and rear, the cantle
almost like the back of an armchair, quite
unlike the English style more usual on the
Continent. Differing from our own western
style saddle only in its lack of a horn, this
type has been used in the Camargue for cen
turies. And Michel's trousers, like those of
almost all the gardians, were of a type pecu-